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Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners.
▪️ Box-Toppers points of the day’s top players.
▪️ A B-T look at today’s pitching matchups.
▪️ Subscribe to Box-Toppers Email Newsletter.
Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Monday’s National League Championship Series Game 1.
Also Monday, Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series.
NL Championship Series Game 1: Phillies 5, Diamondbacks 3
Wheeler struck out eight over six innings, allowing two runs, three hits and no walks.
The Phillies take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Wheeler earned 14.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 11th among all players, fifth among NL pitchers. It’s his second Player of the Game honor this postseason. He was also Player of the Game Oct. 3 in the NL Wild Card Game 1 win over the Marlins. Wheeler is the fourth player this postseason with multiple Player of the Game honors, joining Rangers pitchers Nathan Eovaldi and Jordan Montgomery and Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola.
Wheeler had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0, best among all Phillies players Monday. Phillies top batter was first baseman Bryce Harper with a +3.0 game score (HR 2-3 2R 2BI). Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen had a -11.0 game score (5IP 8H 5R 2BB 4K L).
AL Championship Series Game 2: Rangers 5, Astros 4
Players with most Box-Toppers Player of the Game wins during 2023 postseason:
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) October 17, 2023
3—Nathan Eovaldi @Rangers*
2—Jordan Montgomery @Rangers
2—Aaron Nola @Phillies†
2—Zack Wheeler @Phillies*
*Player of the Game winner Monday
†Starting #NLCS Game 2 Tuesdayhttps://t.co/bIrJ820p4f pic.twitter.com/cLK1cUjV13
Eovaldi struck out nine over six innings, allowing three runs, five hits and one walk.
The Rangers take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Eovaldi earned 9.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 56th overall, 30th among AL pitchers. This is the third time he’s earned Player of the Game honors this postseason, most of any player. He was also Player of the Game in the AL Wild Card win over the Rays on Oct. 4 and in the AL Division Series win over the Orioles on Oct. 10.)
Three other players have won Player of the Game honors twice this postseason—Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola, Rangers pitcher Jordan Montgomery and Monday’s other Player of the Game winner, Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler.
Eovaldi had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, best among all Rangers players Monday. Rangers top batter was right fielder Adolis Garcia with a 0.0 game score (1-3 R BI). Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez had a -8.8 game score (2.2IP 7H 5R 4ER BB 6K L).
Details on Monday’s league championship series Player of the Game winners in the chart.
Box‑Toppers Player of the Game winners
Here is the top player from each of the day’s games listed from highest to lowest Box‑Toppers game score (BTG).| BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +7.0 | PHI 5, ARI 3 | Zack Wheeler (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | |
| +3.0 | TEX 5, HOU 4 | Nathan Eovaldi (W, 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s Player of the Game winners
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2023 (’23). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’22-23), the period 2018-2023 (’18-23) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2023 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2022 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 14.7 | 29.1 | 70.9 | 83.6 | +0.3 |
| Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | tex al | 9.7 | 15.7 | 43.5 | 69.3 | +3.7 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Tuesday’s pitching matchups (for more, see matchups chart):
NL Championship Series Game 2: Phillies lead Diamondbacks, 1-0.
Diamondbacks—Merrill Kelly, 13.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 18th overall, seventh among NL pitchers.
Kelly was Player of the Game in his only 2023 postseason appearance—Oct. 7 in the NL Division Series game win over the Dodgers.
Phillies—Aaron Nola, 12.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 27th overall, 12th among NL pitchers.
Nola was Player of the Game in both of his 2023 postseason appearances—Oct. 4 in the NL Wild Card win over the Marlins and Oct. 11 in the NL Division Series win over the Braves.
A Box-Toppers look at Tuesday’s Championship Series pitching matchup
A Box-Toppers look at the upcoming day’s probable pitching matchups. Teams are paired below with visiting teams on top and home teams on the bottom. Each team’s starting pitcher is shown with their Box-Toppers point total from 2023 (’23), over a two-year period (’22-23), over a six-year period (’18-23) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 13.0 | 24.0 | 39.0 | 39.0 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 12.0 | 28.0 | 77.2 | 101.7 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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About Box-Toppers
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day. (No Box-Toppers points are awarded in postseason games.)
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Previews of 2023 American League Division Series